What Is a Composite Entity?

A composite entity is a thing that is made from other things, according to the Information Sciences Institute of the University of Southern California. Virtually every object in existence is a composite entity. Composite entities also include non-physical things, such as a concert or a paragraph.

A composite entity is made of two or more components. For example, a window is made of wood and glass. A non-physical entity like a concert is composed of musicians, instruments, musical notes, lyrics and an audience. A complex physical object like an automobile is made of hundreds of different components. Whether an entity is physical or abstract does not matter in terms of the definition; any entity made of more than one component is still referred to as a composite entity.